The Subject
by Ocean
Summary: Jou stumbles upon Yuugi in the park one cold winter's afternoon, only to bear witness to a typical day in the lives of Yami and Yuugi. Poor Jou. Mention of YY {continuous}
1. The Park

Disclaimer: Plain and simple. I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

A/N: Okay, I know, quick update. But at least I have two of my three projects done! Now, this is my attempt at humor. There is nothing deep or serious about it at all. The only prior knowledge you need is that of Yami's addiction to orange popsicles. If you understand that, then the rest will flow easily.

Have a laugh on me!

- Ocean

* * *

The Subject  
**_By Ocean_**

Yuugi sat, straddling the beach chair he had brought with him to the park that afternoon. The poor chair had seen better days; its colors were dull and faded from its hours in the sun, and the plastic it was made of sagged and squeaked while it supported Yuugi's weight. It had been the young man's faithful companion on numerous outings, aiding in passing the time on lazy afternoons in quiet, colorful comfort. But today, its purpose was quite different.

It wasn't used to being sat on in such an inappropriate manner. And in the middle of winter! It was just undignified for a beach chair to be seen in such a setting.

The wind seemed to pick up on the bad mood of the poor beach chair that was out of its element, whistling and groaning as it tore through the park and circled everything in its path. It made sure to deliver the chill of the ocean underneath the long coats and thick scarves that covered the people, whipping off in a huff as it was ignored for the glorious truth that today was the first day in weeks that there was no snow on the ground.

Yuugi shivered against the wind, rubbing his hands together briskly to generate heat in the hopes that it would be captured by the caramel colored gloves he wore. His smile persevered against the chattering of his teeth, and his blue-violet eyes glistened with the intensity of his gaze as he kept his full attention on his Subject. The Subject, as Yuugi so cleverly mocked him, wore an outfit that contrasted his own – a caramel colored trenchcoat with a long, black scarf that reached to his waist even though it was doubled around his neck. His black gloves appeared to be more of a hindrance than an aid, a fact that Yuugi very much enjoyed.

Watching his Subject doing what most considered normal was always fun, especially when one considered that normal was _abnormal_ for the Subject.

Yuugi's grin widened, exposing a gleam of his white teeth.

The sound of a disgruntled man fought its way over the howl of the wind and to Yuugi. The grumbling grew in irritation – both at the weather and the complete failure of his green jacket to keep out the cold – before culminating in a giant sigh.

"You always know how to make an entrance, Jou," Yuugi chuckled through his chattering teeth.

Jou bowed in recognition of his talents.

"Primadonna," Yuugi muttered before dodging the retaliating slap. Jou, having resulted to the use of both hands to exact his retribution, was finally able to land a blow on Yuugi's shoulder. But he was unable to turn his friend's gaze from his Subject.

"Whatcha doing out here in this miserable weather?" Jou asked as he leaned down next to Yuugi, settling on his knees.

Yuugi pointed his finger across the way, towards the sand box that had been added for the smaller children, before resting his elbow on top of Jou's head. It actually helped to keep some of the unruly blonde hair in place, but he and Yuugi both looked like the poster boys for 'Wigs Gone Terribly Wrong.'

Jou looked over at the Subject, pointedly ignoring the arm on his head. After several moments of quiet observation, he made his announcement.

"It's freezing out here."

Yuugi chuckled as his Subject was attacked by several smaller subjects, their great number proving sufficient as the Subject stumbled and fell onto his back, being effectively mauled. Then, and only once the Subject's defeat became certain, did he reply.

"Huh?"

"I said it's cold, Yug," Jou grumbled, shaking the arm off his head. "Geeze, can't you concentrate on anything when he's-?"

"Ha! He just got clobbered by a toddler!" Yuugi nearly fell out of his chair with the force of his laughter, and actually managed to hit Jou with a flailing hand on his way down.

Whether that had been intentional or not remained a subject of debate for months.

"Heh... that was pretty good," Jou agreed, a little amazed at Yuugi's ability to laugh that hard and for that long without passing out. Jou looked back at the Subject, who had been able to reclaim his upright position and was now chasing the smaller subjects around the sand box. "I can't believe I'm seeing this."

Yuugi scoffed. "You know, if people would just _try_ to get to know him better, they'd see that he isn't some giant ogre out to pillage and maim."

Jou blinked at his friend, sporting one of the blankest looks in his arsenal.

"What?" Jou asked.

"... what?" Yuugi said slowly, feeling his mind succumb to the numbing ice of utter confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Jou repeated.

Yuugi blinked.

"What are _you_ talking about, Jou?"

"The fact that you and he are dressed alike," Jou said, his tone radiating the well known feeling of 'duh!'. "Why? What are _you_ talking about?"

"..." Yuugi ducked his head away from Jou in a futile attempt to hide his embarrassment. If asked, he was well prepared to blame the redness of his cheeks on the chilly wind that made both him and Jou shake like Jell-O. It was time for a distraction.

"So we're dressed alike, huh?"

"Obviously, Yug," Jou sighed. "I didn't think Yami would be caught dead wearing anything that looked like anything that anyone else was wearing at any time." There was a moment of silence. "Why are you making that face?"

"I'm just trying to understand that sentence of yours. You didn't leave any signs for me to follow," Yuugi said.

"Ain't you a riot," Jou jeered while Yuugi untwisted his features and chuckled. He settled himself fully onto the grass and stuck his legs out in front of him, knocking his shoes together in an idle attempt to wake up his legs. Laughing outright when a gust of wind made Yuugi shiver so hard he fell out of his chair, Jou let his gaze drift back to the Subject, who now appeared to be engaged in the important task of detaching four of the smaller subjects from his legs.

"So how did all this get started?" Jou inquired.

Yuugi clawed his way back into his beach chair, taking the time to straighten his black coat and arrange his hair just so before answering. "You see that kid over there?" he asked, pointing to a little blonde girl who was clutching a yellow plastic shovel as though it were her scepter.

"Yeah," Jou nodded.

"_She_ insulted Yami's popsicle."

Jou's expression froze in horror.

Yuugi calmly adjusted his gloves.

Jou gaped.

Yuugi rearranged the scarf around his neck.

In all honesty, what more needed to be said?

"Oh... _man_," Jou breathed, awed by the girl's bravery.

"Yep," Yuugi agreed.

"How?!"

Yuugi raised an eyebrow curiously, eyeing Jou with a side glance. Deciding to ignore Jou's overly interested tone, he allowed his own amusement to show through with a wide grin and a mischievous glint in his eyes. "She declared that orange is an icky flavor." He snickered.

"_Woooooo_!"

"Mm-hmm."

Jou looked back over to the little heroine, who now found herself in Yami's thorough grip, squealing in delight as the other children climbed on the grinning Yami in an attempt to rescue her.

"Think she's too young for me?"

"Don't be crude, Jou," Yuugi scolded. "Besides... I have dibs."

Jou flashed a lop-sided grin before bundling his ineffective jacket closer to himself. Yuugi finally grew tired of straddling his chair and stood, carefully lifting it, carefully turning it around, carefully making sure to whack Jou in the shoulder before setting the chair down and settling back in. Jou whacked Yuugi's leg in return, but Yuugi ignored him as he reached down and grabbed a large styrafoam cup.

Blinking in surprise at the cup's sudden appearance, Jou found himself taken with the image of Yuugi slowly removing the lid, licking his lips in anticipation while brushing a wild strand of hair behind his ear. Damn, his friend could be sexy doing the most mundane of things! He was just about to ask _where_ Yuugi had been hiding the cup when a shadow suddenly darkened his world.

"That is _my_ hot chocolate."

Yuugi paused, his lips having just come in contact with the cup when Yami suddenly appeared and announced his ownership. It had actually been more of a whine, but such technicalities were usually ignored in regards to Yami. Moving quickly to silence the question that was making Jou dance in his seat, Yuugi shot out his hand and clamped it over his friend's mouth before dealing with the issue of hot chocolate.

"Can't I even have a sip, Yami?" Yuugi asked, giving his most pointed 'is-this-really-worth-an-argument?' look.

Unfortunately for him, Yami was immune to such tactics.

"Did you defend my popsicle?" Yami asked.

Yuugi's face reddened to a degree that prevented him from blaming his flush on the cold wind. He fidgeted as Yami watched him, the hint of accusation in those beautiful-yet-deadly eyes freezing his mind solid.

"I... uh..." Yuugi struggled, trying to form some sort of defense. Darn Yami and his ability to turn his mind into mush! One of these days he was going to have to learn how to resist that smoldering gaze.

He decided to give it a shot.

"I didn't think you'd need hel-help..." His voice trailed off as Yami raised an indignant eyebrow, which was usually a prelude to something far less innocent than the acquisition of a cup of hot chocolate. Yuugi let himself indulge in that thought for a moment before clawing his way back from his imagination.

"I didn't encourage her," Yuugi tried not to mumble. Judging by Jou's pointed cupping of his ear, puzzled expression, and his leaning over directly in front of Yuugi's face, made it pretty clear to him that he had not succeeded.

Sadly, for Yuugi, Yami had _very_ good hearing. It may have been selectively good – he was conveniently deaf every time Yuugi asked him to take out the trash – but when it came to his popsicles, or any topic related there to, Yami could hear a needle drop in the bottom of a chasm.

In a moment of fear-induced bravado, Yuugi glared defiantly at Yami as he tilted the cup and guided the chocolaty liquid towards his lips.

Yami tilted his head to the side, slightly.

Yuugi instantly forgot what he was doing.

Jou turned blue from his laughter, rolling on the ground while clutching his sides.

"That is true, aibou," Yami said smoothly, gliding forward in such a manner as to seduce all of Yuugi's potentially rebellious senses. He bent slowly at his waist, leaned down until he was level with Yuugi's 'deer-caught-in-headlights' stare, and reached out for his cup. "You also did not _dis_courage the attack."

Yuugi shivered at the purr in Yami's tone, arguing with himself the entire time at how pathetically easy it was for Yami to seduce him like this.

"So – no hot chocolate for me, then, huh?" Yuugi relented.

He could have socked Yami for the triumphant grin on his face.

"No hot chocolate for you," Yami agreed. He straightened his stance and took a healthy swig of his prize before turning and running back to the children eagerly awaiting him.

Several tense moments followed Yami's departure, consisting of Yuugi scowling at his clasped hands and shooting glares at Jou, who had yet to stop his boisterous and incessant laughter.

"That-! That was beautiful!" Jou cheered, finally able to settle himself so he could sit still and upright again. He draped himself over the arm of Yuugi's chair, chuckling softly as his friend pouted and looked away, crossing his arms morosely. His chuckling suddenly stopped when a very loud, very painful hiccup jumped its way through his body.

"_That_ was deserved," Yuugi smirked.

Jou's retort was silenced by another hiccup.

Yuugi felt mildly vindicated by Jou's discomfort.

Jou proceeded to rub his chest and hiccup for the next ten minutes, giving Yuugi's sour mood a chance to dissipate. This would have happened sooner had it not been interrupted by Yuugi's blatant objection to Yami offering his hot chocolate to the little heroine, all the while watching Yuugi with a smugness only he could achieve.

Much time can pass when Yuugi is swearing _that_ complete a revenge on Yami.

"That's... rather detailed over some hot chocolate, don't you think?" Jou asked.

He decided not to probe further when he saw the evil grin slide into place on Yuugi's face.

"You're creepy," Jou decided. "Both of you are. So I'm outta here. I'll catch you guys later." He shivered as he stood, the wind taking the opportunity to rush up his shirt and down his spine. "And someplace warmer."

Yuugi waved a hand lazily over his shoulder in acknowledgement as Jou walked away, ignoring Jou's mutterings on how everyone he knew was insane.

He saw no reason to argue with this.

And besides, the Subject had just been brought to the ground for the third time in twenty minutes.

Yuugi leaned back into the consenting beach chair and thoroughly enjoyed the moment.

* * *

end


	2. The Beach

Disclaimer: Plain and simple. I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

A/N: I needed to write something light after all those heavy chapters for "Carry On" and "The Garden." Also, I finally found the beginnings of this after months of it hiding from me. I'd find it, then lose my notebook, then find it again, and lose it again… yeah, you see the pattern. So anyway, I hope it still has the tone of the first chapter, and I hope I can continue to add to this 'story' in the future. Enjoy!

_- Ocean_

* * *

**The Subject  
**_**By Ocean**_

___Day Two – The Beach_

Now this, right here, was how a beach chair was supposed to be treated.

Warm, bright sands that softly cradled its elongated and awkward shape. A harshly soft breeze that whipped and stung and roared at its faded plastic colors. Glaring sunbeams that penetrated the cloudy sky and promised to warm and burn to their brightest potential. Fluffy, cushioned towel of bright bright green that cocooned it like a blanket. All this, with the promise of coldness and salt from the blue-gray ocean in front of it, and a beach chair had reached nirvana.

The chair was perfectly willing to forgive Yuugi the indiscretion he had put it through on that bitter winter's day at the park. Or it was, until Yuugi, drenched to the bone in chilling water, ran up the beach and flung himself clumsily into its supporting embrace.

The chair groaned with the added weight, creaking in protest against the rough treatment it was yet again receiving. Yuugi wriggled himself into the chair, grinding the thousand sand granules he'd brought with him into the worn plastic.

Honestly! Was such a loyal companion destined to be treated so poorly?

Yuugi remained blissfully unaware of his beach chair's problems, shivering as a rogue lick of ocean wind pushed its way under his vibrant towel and triumphantly eradicated all heat he had managed to trap beneath the cotton. Grabbing hold of the edges of the towel he quickly flapped the material in a dire effort to rid himself of the chill. But all he managed to do was capture more cold air, much to the amusement of his snickering Subject.

Yuugi got his own laugh when the Subject – who had opted to stay in the iceberg known as the Pacific Ocean – was knocked head over heals by a brave wave he hadn't noticed coming. It was quite an interesting sound to hear; Yuugi's teeth chattering through his boisterous laughter. The sounds the Subject were muttering once he clawed his way back to the surface were no doubt as fascinating, though probably not as suitable for young ears.

Yuugi nearly jumped out of his towel when an orange plastic Frisbee flew just inches over his belly and from his nose. He yelped in surprise, a high-pitched, almost girly sound that his Subject would use as a bargaining chip for the next two months.

Sand flying in all directions and a brawny arm reaching over him alerted Yuugi to Jou's appearance. He watched blankly as Jou retrieved the Frisbee and, with an elegant flick of his wrist, sent the devious little saucer flying back towards the family that had lost it. It wasn't until Jou, clad only in his electric blue bathing suit, wrapped his own candy striped towel around his waist and sat beside Yuugi in the sand, careful to move the rather sharp edge of the Subject's plastic shovel out from under his bottom, were any pleasantries exchanged between the two friends.

"You got sand on my towel," Yuugi said resentfully.

"Eh, you'll live." It wasn't as though Jou was going to apologize for something he felt was deserved anyway. Plus, he made it a rule never to apologize for having fun.

Yuugi frowned during the next five minutes while he meticulously rid his towel of every grain of sand he could find. Jou spent the time rummaging through his beach tote, a bright white, knitted, gaudy thing that he only used because he knew it embarrassed Yuugi and the Subject to be seen with it in public.

"Pink, green, yellow, orange, or blue?" Jou asked, his nose buried in the tote.

Yuugi had is own issues to deal with. "I can still feel sand on me! Bleh!"

"I'll go with pink, for variety." Long ago Jou had learned the painful but valuable lesson that when it came to Yuugi and his comfort, it was best to remain happily ignorant of the situation until you heard the key word that proclaimed that Yuugi was once again ready to join polite society. Jou shuddered at the memory while he uncapped the tube that contained the pink-colored zinc oxide and squeezed a generous amount onto his finger. Never again would he allow anyone to convince him of the sweet, innocent, and assumingly non-violent nature of his best friend. His right shoulder had hurt for a week as a result of Yuugi's displeasure of being interrupted during his rant about how uncomfortable spandex could be.

"Divine."

Ah, there we go. Jou raised his finger covered in the thick sun block, smeared some under his eyes and on the bridge of his nose, then turned to his friend.

There was a long moment of silence that confused Jou. It wasn't like Yuugi to stare that openly or that… well, there was no other way to say it… that dumbly at anyone.

"You look ridiculous," Yuugi finally blurted out. He proved his sincerity by waving his arm over his head to get the Subject's attention and, once he had it, pointing hastily at the pouting Jou.

"Boy, I feel the love," Jou grumbled.

At this point the Subject probably would have offered his comments on the matter had not a relative of the first brave wave that knocked him off his feet hadn't decided to try its luck and live on the edge. Even Jou had to laugh as the Subject's feet flailed helplessly above the waves.

"You'd think, with all he's done, a wave would be a simple opponent," Jou mused.

Yuugi reached out from beneath the warmth of his comfy towel and groped, rather awkwardly and quite comically, underneath his chair. After tipping himself over once and whapping Jou at least twice (undisputedly) he settled himself back into the chair with his prize – a pack of Honey Roasted Peanuts. Only then did any sign of him hearing Jou's comment register on Yuugi's face. He pursed his lips, sought through his short-term memory, and huffed.

"You give him too much credit," Yuugi said in-between peanuts.

"Whadd'ya mean?" Jou attempted to acquire some of Yuugi's forbidden peanuts. He realized this was a bad move on his part when he heard the crinkle of the bag as Yuugi's hand clenched it defensively. Freezing in place wasn't going to do him any good. Not with the look he was being given. He decided to go for the gold.

"Hey look!" Jou said quickly and with great excitement. He pointed actively towards the ocean. "He lost his suit on that one!"

Yuugi's head snapped over to look at his Subject, eyes wide with anticipation and a laugh playing on his lips. Jou, hopefully naïve that his plan had worked, lunged for the bag of peanuts. He managed to get his fingers on the plastic – a moment of personal triumph – before he halted in his tracks. He stared, slack-jawed, before recoiling in indignation.

"Did… did you just growl at me?!"

"You tried to take my peanuts." The statement was offered with no hint of remorse.

"That's no reason to growl at your best bud!"

Yuugi ignored the protest completely, focusing all his attention on not choking as he ate his peanuts and cackled at the engaging battle between the Subject and the ocean waves.

A quiet moment was shared between the two friends, which, of course, meant that many weird and unrelated events took place. In order:

- A seagull dived at Yuugi's head and tried to steal some of his hair for nesting.

- The Subject got caught in a rip-tide and was dragged a nice distance away from the shore.

- A lifeguard experienced a curious moment of being pelted by peanuts after accidentally kicking sand on someone's hideous green towel.

- Jou acted as a temporary chair for the kid who tripped over his leg while chasing after his parents.

- Yuugi fell asleep.

- The Subject fought his way back to shore.

- Jou tried mixing all the colors of his zinc oxide together and smearing them on Yuugi's chest. He did not succeed.

- The Subject was thoroughly entertained as Jou was overpowered by an unhappy Yuugi and his loyal beach chair.

Some sputtering was required to get the gritty sand out of Jou's mouth after Yuugi's latest retaliation. He reached into his gaudy bag and whipped out a blue sports drink. He glared sideways at Yuugi as he swished and spit to his side, covering the solution with dry sand.

"Geeze Yug. Ever sought counseling for that temper of yours?"

"You know, it's funny. Anzu asked me the same thing." Yuugi's eyes narrowed in thought. "Hey… I think everyone's asked me that!" He blinked. "Except him." He gestured weakly towards the Subject who, having valiantly made it back to shore and been entertained by Jou's beating, was rewarding himself for his efforts by laying flat on his back and panting to his lungs' content.

"Well duh," Jou instructed. "As though he's any judge. Besides, he has to live with you. He's smart enough not to incur your wrath."

Yuugi flopped in his chair, limbs splayed at all angles, and sighed dramatically. "You talk like I'm the devil or something."

"Now now," Jou reassured. "Just his protégé."

In a show of friendship, Yuugi restrained himself and kicked Jou only once in the knee. The gesture was acknowledged, but not appreciated.

Interrupting the moment was an errant strand of sunlight that had managed to bully its way pass the clouds to stand triumphantly on the beach. This heroic feat spurred to life every figure on the sand – save one, who remained delightfully out of breath – into frantic action.

Yuugi, sensing the opportunity to get warm, flung his towel to the side, covering Jou's head, and dashed for the sunbeam with twenty others, doing his part to create the stampede that caused young children to flee for the safety of their parents' legs. He didn't have any plans for when he reached the glorious sunspot, but at the very least he was going to bask in the welcoming light.

One thing he definitely hadn't intended on doing was tripping over a poor sandcastle that had been abandoned during construction, which caused him to lose his balance and bump into a woman who, in an attempt to sidestep her attacker, inadvertently pushed a little girl onto a path that included a young man sprawled on the sand, completely unaware of his immediate future. Yuugi heard a cry of surprised pain and was perfectly willing to ignore it for the sake of the sun when he recognized the irritated groan. Wincing, Yuugi resigned himself to his fate and meekly walked over to his Subject.

The Subject ignored him as he helped the small child regain her balance and continue her chase of the sunbeam. He purposefully didn't look at Yuugi.

"I'm sorry," Yuugi mumbled.

"You had to have something to do with it." The Subject sniffed importantly, then laid back on the sand. "Couldn't stand to see me suffer in peace."

"Oh, don't be such a baby." Satisfied with his comeback, Yuugi made to walk proudly to the now crowded spot of sun when Atemu opened his eyes and looked at him.

…

… it was one of those looks.

It didn't mean anything.

There was absolutely no thought behind it.

…

… it turned confused at one point ...

… then knowing …

… and then bored.

"Either leave or say something," the Subject said irritably. "You're creeping me out just standing there."

Yuugi's mouth fell open to give its impression of a gaping maw. His arm rose of its own accord, but he was well aware of the curling of his fingers as he pointed with purpose at the man in front of him. "You LOOKED at me!" he shouted. It made him feel better about himself.

The Subject lifted his head off the sand and stared. The expression said everything it needed to.

"Because you always mean something when you look at me!" Yuugi stomped his foot, his arm shaking as it continued to point accusingly. "Stop it!"

The Subject was too befuddled to offer a response. "So… I'm not supposed to look at you?"

"No!"

Jou had decided to come down to the waterline to see if the Subject was alright after having been tripped over only to witness Yuugi standing beside him, yelling and pointing. The man looked offended, though Jou couldn't fathom what the Subject might have said to make Yuugi that upset. "Hey man," he said, having to jump backwards to avoiding the flailing arm that came his way when Yuugi turned to face him. "Geeze, what's got you all riled up?"

"He looked at me!"

Jou blinked. That was a very strange accusation to make against anyone. Even for Yuugi.

"So?" Jou asked.

"He looked. At me," Yuugi said, slowing his words as though that would help convey their meaning. He gesticulated wildly behind himself, assumingly in the Subject's direction. "He does all sorts of things when he looks at me!"

Jou raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms and leaning back on one leg. He would have looked intimidating if he hadn't chosen the pink zinc oxide. Blue would have looked nice; even green would have brought out his eyes. "Like what?" He was happy with the rising blush on Yuugi's cheeks and the redness that appeared on his neck. The bug-eyed expression was pretty sweet too.

Yuugi turned to yell at his Subject for getting him into this situation to find that the Subject had long since given up on him and was wading back into the ocean. With a cry of righteous anger Yuugi took off running after him, leaving Jou to shake his head as his friends proceeded to wrestle in amongst the waves. He watched as each man scored a point against the other – consisting of elaborate dunking rituals – and then headed back to his towel.

So long as they didn't drown themselves, there was a cute brunette who was not yet aware that she desperately needed his attention.

* * *


End file.
